Elegant Desert Lodge

Elegant Desert Lodge

Situated 43km from Sesriem, the Elegant Desert Lodge is a convenient and relaxing property close to the famous dunes of the Namib desert and Sossusvlei. Facilities include a bar, restaurant, swimming pool and hiking trails and the lodge offers guided Sossusvlei excursions and welcome sundowners. Excellent farm-style meals are served in the dining room and you can enjoy a Namibian brewed beer while watching the sun go down from the bar or swimming pool.

The rooms are all en suite, with modern furnishings.

The fusion of old and new at the Elegant Desert Lodge provides a refreshingly different experience. From the outside it looks like a traditional lodge but from the inside you can appreciate the thoughtful touches and elegant interiors which give it a modern and stylish twist.

Facilities

There is a bar and restaurant under a lapa roof or one can dine outside on the lawn with a fire pit, inside and outside lounge areas, a swimming pool with loungers, a large garden, library, reception, free WiFi, two waterholes and a landing strip.

Local Wildlife

Elegant Desert Lodge has two waterholes. Wildlife biodiversity is high in reptiles with around 70 species, of which 25 are endemic or near-endemic to the Namib Desert. The wedge-snouted sand lizard, small-scaled sand lizard, web-footed gecko, barking gecko and Namib day gecko all dive beneath the sand when they sense danger. Small rodents include Grant’s golden mole which can ‘swim’ through the sand dunes, gerbils, the Namaqua dune mole rat, the Namib long-eared bat and Angola wing-gland bat which feed on the dune dwelling insects. This is also the home to Peringuey’s adder (Namib Desert sidewinder) – an ambush hunter that buries itself beneath the sand, with only the eyes and tip of its tail exposed, waiting for prey such as desert lizards. The Namaqua chameleon is also specially adapted to the desert, digging holes and changing colour throughout the day to help thermoregulation and excreting salt from nasal glands to conserve water. They stalk prey such as beetles, crickets, scorpions and lizards, and are in turn hunted by hawks, eagles and jackals. Desert insects includes tiny endemic Namib Desert darkling beetles or “fog beetles” which use their bodies as fog collectors by assuming the characteristic fog-basking pose, while the ‘flying saucer trench beetle’ digs trenches to capture the fog’s moisture to drink.

Optional Activities

A two-our scenic drive with sundowner drinks included, a two-hour quad bike scenic drive in the afternoon, a 1.5-hour morning quad bike scenic drive with breakfast and a half-day Sossusvlei excursion with breakfast, a variety of walking trails guided and un-guided.

Number Of Rooms

29

Air Conditioning

Yes

Swimming Pool

Yes

Alan Godwin

Area Specialist

If you have any questions regarding our
Namibia
tours, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965

This was our second visit to Namibia in just over 12 months, with Reef and Rainforest and our seventh consecutive wildlife trip with them. I think that speaks for itself. This year we were particularly keen to try and observe some desert adapted Lions. The Lions found in ‘The Namib Desert’ are genetically identical to those found in the rest of Southern Africa but have adapted to live in one of the harshest environments on earth. They number around 150 and have a huge range, and are rarely seen. They came to prominence in the outstanding documentary film ‘Vanishing Kings’. The best chance of observing members of this subset of Lions is during a stay at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, although sightings cannot be guaranteed and weeks can pass by without any success. Therefore a stay at this camp was at the heart of our itinerary and we were very lucky to spend time with a Lioness and her niece who had killed an Oryx in the conservancy. The camp itself is absolutely outstanding in every respect and the location is just spectacular.

Visitors should be aware that this is not ‘The Serengeti’ and that the wildlife is quite thin on the ground. However you would have to be very unlucky not to see Elephant, Giraffe and several other species. Whilst we were out in the desert we were lucky to bump in to Dr P. Stander who has dedicated the whole of his adult life to the conservation of The Desert Lion, what a thrill. The day trip out to the coast was pretty special as well.

The rest of the itinerary worked very well and we were very pleased to have three full days in Etosha N.P. where we recorded 25 mammal species, including 32 individual Lions, observed the aftermath of 4 zebra kills, 11 Rhinoceros (both Black & White), an African Wildcat and the rarely seen in Etosha, elusive Leopard.

So a big thank you to ALL at Reef and Rainforest, another highly successful trip, you certainly delivered again.